ArchiNerd

ArchiNerd PLLC is a Nashville based architecture and interiors firm. Creative and Collaborative.

09/05/2026

Nothing says "Welcome Back to School" like a final project due before Labor Day 🤓

I threw a lot at these students over the last two and a half weeks, and they absorbed it all. There is always room for refinement and another layer(s) of development, but every student arrived at a tectonic and compelling design solution for small housing.

Knowing houses are a specialty of mine, it was especially fun to see how third-year architecture students interpreted the basic needs of very specific characters. Rather than designing a generic "small house," we asked what happens when a home is designed around the dignity of a particular person.

A veteran living with PTSD. A survivor of abuse seeking safety and stability. A person who is blind or deaf. Each brings a completely different set of needs, and those needs begin to shape circulation, thresholds, privacy, material, light, sound, orientation, and ultimately architecture. The house may be small, but the design problem certainly isn't.

I'm incredibly proud of these future architects. Amazing work, thoughtful conversations and a great foundation to build on for the semester ahead!

05/13/2026

HISTORIC WINNER
Woo hoo!! We are a winner of the 2026 Nashville Preservation Award for 1600 Woodland 🥳
Big thanks to Metro Historic Commission for the award. And BIGGER thanks to an amazing team that got it done!
Now go buy some sourdough bread and beauty product, then grab a negroni upstairs and listen to some vinyl 😎

05/01/2026

SNEAK PEEK 👀
One of Nashville’s longtime local favorites, Calypso Cafe, is bringing dine-in service back to its Charlotte Ave location in Sylvan Heights SOON! Swipe to see the before photo.
The space has operated as a kitchen for takeout, delivery, and catering since the pandemic, and now it’s coming back to life for the neighborhood again. A true family spot.
We don’t take on many commercial projects, but when it’s a local staple we genuinely love, we’re in.
I remember being in college and Calypso being the best healthy option on a college budget. They were once 11 stores and reached as far as Knoxville, then reduced down to three during COVID. They are reopening for dine-in at the Sylvan Heights location. I'm so happy to help them stay a Nashville classic for fresh food done right!
If you’re in Sylvan Park, The Nations, Midtown / Vandy, keep an eye out and go support them when the doors reopen.
What I loved the most about this design: the curved backlit wave at the rear. I think it and the natural materials give an authentic Calypso vibe.
TLDR: Rotisserie chicken and black bean salad 🤌

04/27/2026

VOLUNTEER DAY
Nothing beats giving back to your community. This morning, we had a full crew show up strong! I invited my class at Belmont to join me at Creswell Middle School for a morning of tactical urbanism. They were all about it!
HUGE shoutout to Civic Design Center for organizing these thoughtful, hands-on installations. With a mix of student-led artwork and collaboration with NDOT, today became the final piece of a puzzle these students have been building over weeks.
Check out the last photo for the near-final result. This corner along Clarksville Highway had an extra-wide crossing and a high-speed turn onto the school street. Students didn’t feel safe crossing here. Today, they helped solve the problem!
A small step, but a big reminder that the city isn't just handed to them, THEY HELP SHAPE IT! 🤓

04/22/2026

We are pumped to share that we entered 1600 Woodland into the design awards for 2026!
This unique property is a mixed use building bringing together the delicious .bread.nashville and beautiful to a semi-shared space. The outdoor seating was strategically placed along the sidewalk to engage community, rather than create a private experience.
The historic building at Woodland was kept mostly the same except for bold new colors! The rear addition is where we had the real fun. Red brick contrasts the siding of the historic structure, but was meant to mimic the material on the block. The red brick at Lockeland Table and the half-round arched brick windows at the Church at Lockeland Springs are brought to our property. A direct nod to the neighborhood fabric.

04/15/2026

Quick brag on one of my students! Terrance Carey is making moves inside and outside the classroom. He is this year's recipient of The Dr. Fannie Hewlett Award.
Each year, there is one undergraduate and graduate winner. Terrance was this year's undergrad winner for the entire University. BIG DEAL! The Dr. Fannie Hewlett Award celebrates racial and ethnic diversity by recognizing courage, leadership and contribution to a culture of inclusion at Belmont.
His mixture of academics, missions, and social involvement have shaped him into an amazing young professional and future architect. I'm excited to see his growth after academia.
What was new to me was the background of Fannie Hewlett. She is a renowned figure in Nashville, and particularly at Belmont. Dr. Hewlett was a professor and the first African American graduate of Belmont. Her courage and knowledge during a trying time cemented a legacy, as courage coupled with knowledge often does. Getting to know Terrance over the last semester, he seems very fitting for this award. HUGE Congrats! 🤓

04/04/2026

WORK TRIP
It’s pretty rare that I get to step away from Nashville for a project, but when the opportunity comes up to work with Gari Sprott again, it’s hard to say no!
After a successful full renovation of an original Robert Anderson home in Nashville, we joined forces for another incredible property. The house and land were spectacular, but what caught me off guard was the nearby town of Hudson. Check out these photos!
The historic town was shaped by a boom in whaling industry of the 1800s, revamped through a manufacturing boom in the mid-1950s, and is now finding its way back. People call it the “Brooklyn of Upstate,” but it feels a bit more authentic than that.
What really stood out were the bones. Rows of Greek Revival buildings. Unassuming 3 and 4 story buildings. Ornate and confident, many without anything else to enhance them. I wanted to sketch every building! Alas.. photos will have to do.
Sometimes the side trip ends up being the thing you remember most 🤓

03/31/2026

MOCK JURY DAY
Architecture school is unique. There isn’t traditional homework per se... instead there are pinups, built models, progress drawing sets, and presentations that attempt to clearly communicate an idea that is still evolving. At the center of it all is vulnerability. You are constantly opening your work up to critique.

Yesterday was an incredibly valuable day for our students. We welcomed an outside jury made up of some of the top professionals in the architecture industry. Each student sat 1 on 1 with a juror, walking through their thinking and their process.

The level of feedback was amazing! Our jurors engaged deeply. They offered direct feeeback on design and graphics, and often marked up drawings right alongside the students. The amount of knowledge shared in just a few hours could easily stretch across an entire semester.

This is not possible without folks raising a hand to volunteer their time and special skill sets. A sincere and HUGE THANKS to our amazing professional connections:

DLR Group
Smith Gee Studio
HASTINGS
Southern Architecture Workshop
Comma Designworks

And our internal O'More College of Architecture and Design expertise:

Katherine E Kennon, AIA
Caleb Walder
Layla Iskandar

Address

1521B Russell Street
Nashville, TN
37206

Website

https://www.archinerd.com/

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